1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an arrangement for the measuring and correction of the steering geometry of motor vehicles, in particular their alignment and camber angles, through the intermediary of mechanical components associated with each wheel of a wheel pair and which serves for the scanning of the actual value of the wheel angles, whereby the values determined in this manner are converted into electrical signals through the utilization of data pick-ups and are then displayed.
The travelling properties of a motor vehicle depend in an important extent, upon a condition of its steering geometry, in effect, upon the alignment and the camber of the wheels. A carefully measured, and in case of need correspondingly corrected steering geometry, has a not insignificant influence on tire wear and on fuel consumption.
Arrangements for the measurement of the drive mechanism geometry of motor vehicles as well as of corresponding methods of operation have been known for a long period of time. However, arrangements of that type as well as the operating procedures developed therefore are incapable of being optimized not only in constructive but, above all, also in technologically conceptual respects.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
In Swiss Pat. No. 540,476 there has already been proposed a measuring arrangement for the measurment of the driving mechanism geometry for motor vehicles. The motor vehicle which is to be measured is hereby oriented on the arrangement in accordance with its longitudinal center axis. Restricted to practically identical prerequisites is also the (operational) method proposed in Swiss Pat. No. 544 300. For the automatic determination of the symmetrical longitudinal axis of the motor vehicle, as well as the angular inclination of the forward wheels of the vehicle, also in this instance one proceeds from the vertical plane extending through the symmetrical longitudinal axis.
Another, similar type of procedure is, in addition thereto, proposed in Swiss Pat. No. 424,288, in the practical embodiment of which there is measured, for example, the angle of inclination between the longitudinal center axis of the vehicle and the forward or rear axle at the crossing points.
As has been shown, the disadvantage of those types of arrangement and (operating) procedures lies in their technical conception since this, as a rule, always requires a plurality of reference axes. Thus it lies at hand that even in this case, in effect within the conceptional scope, that there is produced significantly large source for measuring errors.